Grinning like a Cheshire cat, the naga was just contemplating finishing off the dumb dragon, when out of nowhere an invisible weight crushed him against the corridor wall. Forcing all the air from his lungs, the confusion spell that he'd been casting on the dragon vanished completely. Disbelief turned to fear as he searched for the words that would save him.
Steel could feel his personal shield expand all around him, crushing the naga up against the wall, squeezing the very life out of him. Pushing ever on, willing it to grow even more, become even stronger, he was pleased to see the results of his improvised attack when his vision returned to normal.
Needing air or at least one breath anyway, the invisible force was everywhere, holding him against the wall. Desperately he tried to slither out beneath whatever it was, but his way was blocked all around. With panic taking over, he lashed out, flicking his tail as far as it would go. But it wasn't far enough. As the blackness that had started around the edge of his vision encompassed it all, his own sickly gurgle was the last sound he ever heard.
Steel crumpled to the floor, back to the wall, facing his opponent. Inside he knew he had no time to waste, not if he wanted to save the staff. But he had to rest, just for a few seconds. Panting heavily, all he could think was,
'That was too close.'
Earth's surface. Salisbridge, United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, back above ground in the historical city of Salisbridge, the local police were run ragged, trying to solve the mysterious disappearance of a multitude of individuals. Over the course of twenty-four hours, officers had been dispatched to a number of properties where missing people had been reported. Collating all the evidence back at the station had done them little good, up until the point the final call came in. On attending one of the city centre's Indian restaurants, both policewomen listened intently to the owner's seemingly outrageous story about what had happened the previous Saturday night. Only when the establishment's CCTV footage was reviewed did the officers start to take things seriously... so seriously in fact, that they had to pass things up the chain of command pretty damn quick. The kicker for them had come when they'd recognised the other missing persons they'd spent the best part of a day searching for. On seeing the group arm themselves after the woman in question had suffered some sort of fit on the floor in front of all the other diners, nothing about what had happened made the slightest bit of sense. As the owner of the restaurant continued to badger them about the whereabouts of his son, both officers couldn't help but gaze out of the huge plate glass window which afforded a fabulous view of the city centre and in particular the ancient Poultry Cross, wondering just what had happened that fateful night. So many questions presented themselves. What had been wrong with the woman writhing around on the floor? Why did the group all need to be armed? Where had they gone? How had they avoided the CCTV covering the Poultry Cross? Was all of this done on purpose and pre-planned, or was it something off the cuff? Up until the point where the woman had become unwell, everything looked as though it were a normal Saturday night out.
'If only the restaurant's surveillance had extended further than the pavement outside,' one of the officers thought to herself. According to all the staff they'd interviewed, the group of armed men and women had headed out of the restaurant, the CCTV had confirmed this to be true, and then the woman who'd had the fit had somehow, if their accounts were to be believed, shimmied up the pole on which the council run CCTV cameras were situated, and disabled the camera before shimmying back down and joining her comrades. Moments later the whole group disappeared from sight, and not a word had been heard from any of them since. It was a total and utter mystery, something no police force likes, and one the two women and their colleagues were determined to resolve.
An hour after reinforcements were called for, four detectives, one of them being Tina, the Salisbridge lacrosse player and teammate of some of the missing persons, and several support officers arrived at the scene right in the middle of the city, causing heads to turn and whispers to run rife, something that wasn't really unexpected given that it was market day and the city streets were full of people shopping and going about their business. As the new arrivals settled in, the two officers started to explain to them all what they'd just uncovered.
9
Shattered Illusions
The bombardment was intense. Rippling in places, the translucent magical shield looked as though it would fold in on itself, the constant noise unsettling. It made the dragon troops and the surviving councillors nervous. The king, however, seemed lost in thought, no doubt considering the beings just the other side of the bottomless chasm that separated the two forces.
Amelia Battlehard had done all that she could and now found herself looking out through the constantly changing, blue tinged, transparent shield. With little concern for her own wellbeing, she worried over the safety of her troops and more importantly... the king! To say things looked bleak was an understatement. Just from what little they knew, the force they were facing was monstrous in size. It didn't help that they had no way of communicating with the outside world. Whatever had been done to ensure that, it had been well planned out in advance, before being carried out to perfection. She wondered how they'd done it, and if somehow she could have stopped it. Thoughts of help turning up whistled through her mind, but for the life of her, she couldn't see where it would come from. They'd had their knees cut out from under them, flailing around, outnumbered and outgunned with nowhere even left to run. Would she run if she could? It certainly wasn't very dragon-like. But if it kept the king alive and allowed him to live to fight another day, then she supposed she would.
"Penny for your thoughts, Captain?" whispered the king, having sneaked up behind her.
"It's difficult to know where to start, Your... George."
The slightest smile meandered across the king's face at the use of his name.
"I know things look pretty hopeless now, but don't give up hope. There's always a chance, and I don't know about you, but I always believe in being ready for when that one opportunity presents itself. It will come along, of that I have little doubt, Captain. Focus your mind on that. All is not lost."
Amelia Battlehard forced a smile onto her face, acknowledging the king's words with a slight nod of her giant prehistoric head. For a few seconds they both stood and stared out at the continuous magical onslaught that was meant for them.
It was the king that broke the silence.
"I suppose it's time. I had hoped to avoid it if at all possible, but we are way past that now."
The captain, a quizzical look on her face, opened her mouth to speak. The king got there first.
"Releasing the magical creatures from the capture and detainment facility in the basement of the council building would seem to be a prudent precaution given our current circumstances, don't you think?"
"Aaahhh," nodded the captain, having wondered when the time would come, and just what effect releasing the beasts might have on their opposing force.
Suddenly looking more weary and tired than any had ever seen him, the king slowly closed his eyes and, in his mind, reached out to the presence inside the ring on his finger. Presence was really the only way to describe what he'd come to think of as a constant companion, occasional friend, powerful ally, and irregular confounder. Bright searing blue, green and yellow lights blared inside his mind as he wriggled around uncomfortably, looking for the tiny magical power source that he knew was continually keeping all the dangerous creatures in check. Like scouring a dream, or being captivated by a long lost memory, his mind pressed on, until he eventually found what he was looking for. As he approached what appeared to be a red metal wheel, sitting above a row of green and blue lights, on an out-of-this-world console, he could hear the ring's worried whispers echoing around his mind.